Sanctuary
by SilverRayan
Summary: Starscream's sparkbearer died giving birth to him. Megatron has never forgiven him for that. It's all his brothers can do to keep him alive.


Adopted

"Ah Star, why do you have to do this to yourself?" Thundercracker muttered as he patched up the unconscious youngling. His little brother seemed to go out of the way to antagonize their Creator. The eldest child didn't understand why. Each and every time he did so he ended up either in Thundercracker or Soundwave's care. TC wished that the littlest Seeker was as good as disappearing as Warp; maybe then he wouldn't be hurt so often.

'Then again, Creator seems to make up reasons to hurt him. Really, whoever heard of being punished for leaving their door open?' Although he did not wish to admit it, he had absolutely no respect for the mech who constantly beat Starscream. He and Skywarp were always praised whenever they did something right, like the time that they had learned the High G Barrel Roll. Starscream however, had learned the same maneuver in half the time of his older brothers and all Megatron could do was find ways to criticize him. It was sickening. Soundwave didn't like it either.

Thundercracker once asked the cassette player why his Creator was so cruel to Starscream. Soundwave had said it was because Starscream reminded Megatron of his dead mate. Twilight had died sparking Star, and Megatron had never forgiven his son for that. The fact that Screamer was so much like Twi – he had her colors and skill in the sky – did not help matters. Megatron was determined to hate "the mistake", as he called his youngest child. The little mech had done all that he could to earn his Creator's favour, but nothing was ever good enough. When he did something right he was ignored in favour of his brothers. When he did something wrong he was beaten into unconsciousness. But the seeker's young mind had realized that when he was bad he got attention, even if it was painful. Eventually Star had taken to acting out because he craved attention that he so rarely got from anyone other than his brothers and Soundwave's family.

Thundercracker sighed as he finished the last of the repairs. At least they weren't _too_ bad this time. Just a few frayed wires, a torn wing, and a couple of knocks to the head. Somewhere in his processor he knew it was disturbing that such injuries could be classified as mild. He carefully placed his brother on the recharge berth, taking care to not jostle the still sensitive wings, before calling for Skywarp. His other brother appeared almost immediately.

"He did it again, didn't he?" There was no need to ask who _he_ was. TC nodded. Skywarp looked like he was about to cry. Warp, although he often pretended to be a foolish, loudmouth prankster, was a smart, talented young mech. He was an artist and a dreamer, and was extremely sensitive. It broke his young spark every time his Creator hurt his little brother. Skywarp had tried interfering once, not able to stand watching Starscream in pain. Megatron had smacked him and then proceeded to inflict Starscream's beating at double the intensity. Skywarp had never interfered again, and preferred to make himself scarce at the first sign of conflict. He couldn't stand hearing Starscream's cries. Thundercracker, as the older one, didn't have that luxury. He had to be strong for his little brothers. He had to be the one to care for them, to protect them, because no one else could.

Thundercracker opened his arms, and his purple brother flung himself into them. They clutched each other tightly, neither one sure what to do. It was unfair, but it was the only life either of them knew. Thunder could faintly remember the times before their Creator changed, back when he would smile and play and be happy. Skywarp had been too young, and though he was not the target of their Creator's ire – he could get away with anything that he wanted to – he felt the effects just the same. Both wanted a better life for their brother but they had no idea how to go about getting it.

Thundercracker slowly backed the pair to Starscream's berth, never letting go of the form curled against his chest. He pulled Skywarp up onto the berth with him, and both younglings curled around Starscream protectively. At least for a little while they could keep the little seeker safe. Uneasily, they fell into recharge.

----------

Thundercracker sighed, balancing three energon cubes as he trekked back to his room. Skywarp was keeping Star company while the latter recovered again. He would have to keep a better optic on the youngest; he was far too good at escaping his attention long enough to antagonize Megatron, who always reacted with violence. Of them all, the eldest seekerling felt like the adult. When most seekerlings were his age they were outside enjoying the skies, playing games and being children. He was stuck inside repairing his brother, trying to keep Skywarp from losing himself in his fantasies, feeding them, cleaning and basically being a parent. He was the one who taught them both to read, he taught them manners, and how to fly. He had raised Star from a sparkling; he had once heard Soundwave say to one of the Constructicons when they thought he was sleeping by his brother's medberth that his youngest brother would never have survived past infancy if it hadn't been for him. They had been upset and disgusted, but no one, it seemed, dared go against Lord Megatron. Thunder loved his brothers, there was no doubt about that, but sometimes he wondered what it would be like to be a normal kid.

Slowly he made his way back to their shared room. He was presently surprised to find that Soundwave was there, along with Rumble and Frenzy. The twins were entertaining his brothers with wild stories of their escapades and pranks on the other cons. The current one seemed to involve Blast Off, a turbo rabbit and forty gallons of pink paint. Starscream was laughing at the re-enactment, contently curled against the sapphire Decepticon's chest.

"Greetings Thundercracker." Thunder nodded back.

"Hi Soundwave, Rumble, Frenzy." He made his way over to Skywarp and passed him a cube, before giving the other to Star. "Sorry I didn't bring more energon. I would have, had I known."

"Nah, it's fine," Rumble answered for his Creator, "me and Frenz already ate, and Soundwave'll get some of his own when we go get Ravage. Hey, did you hear about what happened to Darkwing?" For the rest of the joor the twins kept them entertained while Soundwave's calming presence lulled Starscream into recharge. Thundercracker and Skywarp enjoyed the time that they had to visit their friends. Eventually though, Soundwave was summoned to the throne room and ordered to bring all of his cassettes. The Second in Command had to wonder if Megatron did that deliberately. It seemed that whenever they visited the three seekerlings Megatron would come up with some big, important mission that required not only Soundwave, but all six of his children as well. It _could_ be coincidence, but that was unlikely. Still, his Lord never said anything, so it was probably best to leave it as is.

----------

"TC! Oh Primus TC get back here! Please! There's so much energon, I don't know what to do!" The panicked transmission was from Skywarp. Thundercracker had only left for a few breems to go flying. What on Cybertron had happened?

"Calm down Warp, and tell me what's going on." Already he was banking, coming around and igniting his thrusters. Skywarp was hysterical; whatever was going on, he needed to be there.

"Creator sent me to do a qu-ick patrol around the b-base. When I got back to our room Screamer was g-gone, s-so I l-l-looked for him and I found, oh Primus I found him l-l-like thi-is, covered in en-energon. I think he's dying, TC. I don't kn-ow what to do-o." The last part was whispered. Thundercracker felt his fuel tank fall. No. Creator wouldn't go so far as to kill his own youngling, would he?

"Hang on Warpy, I'm almost home. Call Soundwave and tell him we need him, ok?"

"Ok," Skywarp sniffled.

Thundercracker raced through the skies, terrified for his brother. He had known the beatings were bad, had seen his Creator descend into madness, but not once had he ever taken it this far. Not once had 'Cracker ever thought Starscream's life to be in danger. How could he have missed it? Guilt flooded him, but he pushed it away for the moment. The only thing he could do now was get to Starscream and hope he could patch him up.

----------

Soundwave was already there, hunched over the tiny body of his brother, trying to stem the energon flow. Skywarp was cradled in Frenzy's arms, with Ratbat snuggled against him. The other cassettes surrounded him, either shielding him from the gruesome sight, or restraining him – Thundercracker wasn't sure which. He ran to Starscream's side, dropping down next to him heavily. He immediately began to seek out the damaged lines and did his best to compress the injuries. His hands were too small to cover some of the larger injuries, so he let Soundwave take care of those.

Loud pedesteps echoed down the corridor. Everyone recognized it as Megatron's familiar gate, quick and efficient, but powerful. Thundercracker looked at his middle brother. He hated to ask Skywarp to do this, but he knew that Megatron would never hurt his favourite son.

"Warp, head him off. Distract him, tell him anything you want, but keep him from this room! Please?" Skywarp nodded, and shakily pushed himself to his pedes. A moment later his warp drive activated and he disappeared. The pedesteps stopped. Relieved, Thundercracker turned back to Starscream.

He didn't know how long they worked; it felt like an eternity. Eventually they had all of Star's wounds patched, but the little seeker was nowhere near stable. But Thundercracker had no idea what else they could do. Briefly he flirted with the idea of leaving. He could just take his brothers and run. But where would they go? The Autobots would kill them on sight, or at least take them prisoner. And then they would barter with Megatron and their Creator would get them back, and he would blame Starscream. Then Megatron really _would _kill him. But Starscream would die if they stayed here. The Constructions would report to Megatron that they had fixed Starscream, even if Thundercracker asked them not to, and then the cycle would continue. But he couldn't just let his little brother die.

----------

Soundwave watched as the youngling tried to find a way to save Starscream. He could hear the blue seekerling's rapid thoughts as they flitted from one topic to the next. He would discard an idea as quickly as he thought of it, but one of them caught the SIC's attention. Taking refuge with the Autobots was actually a very good idea. Whereas Soundwave personally thought them to be weak minded fools who were too soft for their own good, it was precisely that which could save the lives of the Royal Trine. The Autoscum would never turn away younglings, no matter who their creators were, and especially not if one of the younglings was injured.

"Suggestion: Seek shelter with the Autobots. Autobot CMO Ratchet: Best medic available. Starscream's life: safer away from Megatron." Thundercracker was shocked.

"B-But they'll _kill_ us!"

"Negative. Autobots: too soft. Will not harm you. Only chance for a better life for Starscream and Skywarp." _And you._ "Optimus Prime: Well aware of what his brother is capable of, even against his own younglings." Thundercracker flinched. He hated being associated with his Creator. Starscream's survival: not ensured if he remains here."

----------

Thundercracker and Skywarp clutched their precious burden between them. Their little brother moaned; his plating was uncomfortably warm. Soundwave said he had contracted a virus. He needed a medic if he was going to survive the cycle. That, ultimately, was what had caused the two elder siblings to flee to the Autobots. Soundwave had assured them that they wouldn't be harmed. Now they were perched on the top of one of the base's highest towers. The cassetticons were running amok, causing enough mayhem for the three younglings to slip away unnoticed. Any moment now the SIC would send them the signal, and they would take to the skies. It would take them two joors to get to the Autobot base in Iacon; they could only hope that it wouldn't be too late.

Moments later a subtle flare briefly lit up the night sky before fading away. The two conscious seekerlings launch themselves into the air, flying as fast and as hard as they could. The ground fell away as they climbed higher and higher. From the ground, a set of ruby optics watch until the little mechs are out of sight. Sighing, Soundwave recalls his cassettes, ready with excuses for their strange behaviour. It was a shame that the seekers would be raised by Autobot ideals, but he would rather see that than watch them succumb to death and grief. At least they would be safe.

----------

Powerglide stared at the monitors. His optics were beginning to burn. The night cycle was the most boring surveillance shift there was. Nothing ever happened. At least, not in Iacon. There was always activity outside the city walls, but the outlet bases took care of that. So it came as a complete surprise when three small blips showed up on the radar, approaching Iacon fast.

"This is Autobot command to bogies, please identify yourselves." No response.

"Bogies, identify yourselves or you will be shot. I repeat, you will be shot."

"This is –krsht – eed help –krsht – dy – krsht – over." The signal was breaking up. Powerglide frowned. That only happened when mechs or femmes were approaching extreme exhaustion. It couldn't be faked. The voice also sounded young.

"Bogies, land immediately. We will come to you." It wasn't exactly protocol, but it was better to have the flyers grounded until they knew what they were dealing with. He called it in.

"Powerglide to Optimus Prime."

"Prime here."

"Sir, we have three unknown bogies on the North East edge of Iacon. They tried to identify themselves but their communications arrays are so shot I can't make heads or tails of it. They asked for help, and have landed just past the quartex mines."

"Thank you, Powerglide. I will assemble a team. Prime out."

---------

Ratchet was annoyed. For the first time in decacyles he had managed to get into recharge, only to be awoken by Ironhide saying they had an emergency. So now they were on their way out to Primus knows where to pick up the mechs. He hadn't been given any information other than that they were likely Decepticons. There had been no word on their conditions, which irked the medic greatly. How was he supposed to treat a patient if he didn't know what was wrong? He supposed it couldn't be too bad, however, as the bogies hadn't been brought right to his medbay. A moment later he was proven very, very wrong.

"They're up ahead sir, about two hundred paces." Prime signalled the company to slow down and approach with caution. Apparently, one of the bogies had seen them and stood, making his way towards the oncoming mechs. The other two stayed huddled together. When the Autobots were close enough they were able to recognize the form of Thundercracker, Megatron's eldest child.

"It's a trap!" Someone shouted. They were all reluctant to pull their weapons on a youngling, however.

"No, please! It's not, I promise! We just, we need a medic, really badly. My little brother is really hurt. Please help him. Please?" Thundercracker whimpered. He was exhausted and terrified. He wanted nothing more than to collapse and recharge for the next decacycle. He had to make sure his brothers were safe first though.

Ratchet shoved his way through the crowd, already heading to the two hunched figures. Thundercracker ran along side of him. Skywarp looked up from where he was hunched over his brother, shielding him from sight. His face lit up in relief as he caught sight of his brother and the Autobot CMO. He moved away from Star's prone form, allowing the Autobots to see the mangled mess that was the tiny mech' body.

"What happened?" Ratchet asked, already assessing the damage. The seekerling was in bad shape. Busted fuel lines, torn plating, shredded wings, a virus, and likely internal damage... the list of injuries was endless. It was obvious that someone had tried to patch him up, but the job they had done was amateur at best.

"Megatron." The adult mechs were surprised by the amount of hate that the youngling managed to put into that word. Skywarp wore a look of matching disgust.

"Megatron did this?" Optimus sounded horrified.

"He does it all the time," Skywarp said softly. "TC, me and Soundwave try to protect him, but we can't be there all the time, and Star likes antagonizing him." That statement was worrying, but the Prime would have to think about it later.

"Ratchet, what's the damage?"

"We need to get him back to base, stat. I can't fix him with the tools I have out here. ":_And if we don't get him back soon, he'll die:_ he said over the comm. link so as not to frighten the younglings.

"Alright. Let's get these kids secured." Ratchet transformed, and Wheeljack loaded Starscream into the medicraft. Hoist climbed in with him. Thundercracker and Skywarp tried to follow, but the engineer held them back.

"Sorry kids, but they need room to work. You can come with me." Both seekerlings glared, but climbed into Wheeljack's altmode. They figured they couldn't afford to waste time arguing; the sooner Starscream was taken to where ever they were going, the sooner they could make him better. If they went quietly, they would be able to see their little brother that much sooner.

----------

Skywarp glared into his energon cube. He didn't want to be here, fraggit! He wanted to be in the Med bay with his little brother, but after Wheeljack had looked he and Thundercracker over and declared them low on energon and tired, but otherwise fine, Ratchet had kicked them out, claiming he couldn't work as effectively while they were under pede. What Ratchet didn't say was that he was also trying to prevent the younglings from seeing the full extent of the damage. The medic had had a sneaking suspicion that Thundercracker had already seen it, but he was going to do his best to protect Skywarp. Hence Skywarp's current foul mood. They had been sent to recharge, but after doing so for a full cycle both younglings were wide awake and irritable.

Warp shot a look at his big brother. TC was slumped down in his seat, brooding. Sky knew that the blue seekerling was blaming himself for what happened to Starscream and nothing Skywarp had said had convinced him otherwise. Albeit, considering Sky was blaming himself for the same thing – why had he left Star alone? Why had he never had the courage to fight back?! – so he doubted his words had sounded all that convincing.

The adult mechs had tried to talk to them, but the younglings had sat in silence, wanting to be alone. The adults had respected that, and while they kept an optic on the two tucked away in the corner of the rec room they kept their distance. So, it came a surprise when two bodies plopped down next to them. Startled, Skywarp and Thundercracker looked up, coming face to face with two younglings who looked to be slightly older than Thundrecracker.

"Hi!" The red one chirped, "I'm Sideswipe. And this is my twin, Sunstreaker. Who are you?" The seekers stared at the pair for a long moment until they remembered their manners.

"I'm Skywarp," the purple youngling said almost shyly.

"Thundercracker." His voice was curt. That didn't seem to bother Sideswipe though.

"Nice to meet you!" He paused and turned to his brother. "Sunshine, be nice and say hi."

"Don't call me that!" The yellow youngling snapped. Scowling at his brother, Sunstreaker ignored him and instead pulled out a drawing pad. Sideswipe just smiled.

"Don't mind him. His snarl is worse than his bite." Skywarp and Thundercracker couldn't hold back a smile as Sunstreaker growled. This was nice, being able to hang out with younglings their own age. Guilt followed that thought immediately. How could they think such a thing when Starscream was dying? The smiles faded as quickly as they had come. Sideswipe (and Sunstreaker, though he'd never admit it) noticed at once. But instead of asking what was wrong, the red twin tactfully changed the subject. Neither Skywarp nor Thundercracker could hide their relief. They really didn't want to talk about it.

Instead, Sideswipe told them about the different mechs on the Ark. There was, of course, Optimus Prime. He was strict, but the nicest leader ever, according to the twin. He had taken Sunny and Sides in when they had been rescued from the Gladiator Training Grounds. Both younglings had been nearly feral, and completely untrusting, but Optimus had never lost his temper with them. He had been patient and kind, and the twins were very glad that they had been given a chance. Jazz and Prowl were bondmates, and had adopted the twins. Sideswipe complained about how dull Prowl was (the mech wouldn't know fun if it bit him in the aft!) but both seekerlings could see how much the twins loved their adopted creators. Blaster was Jazz's best friend, and had younglings of his own with a mech named Smokescreen. They were just bitty little mechs though, so they didn't play with them. On and on it went, and TC and Warp found themselves relaxing. The stories were funny, and it helped to distract them.

"And Ratchet is the best medic ever! So don't worry about your brother. When Sunny and I were brought in, Sunny was about as bad off as he is, and look at him now! True, he's not the most charming mech around, but he's completely better! Ratchet is amazing, and the rest of the medical team are too. Starscream will be back on his pedes in no time!"

Sideswipe's complete faith in Ratchet's abilities made them feel better. And if Sunstreaker had been as bad off as Sides claimed then Star would be alright too. They had to believe that. It made them feel better, knowing that things weren't as helpless as they had thought. Sideswipe had moved on, and was trying – and failing – to pull the art pad from his twin's hands.

"Share, Sunny!"

"Frag off!" The fight might have escalated, had Skywarp not chosen that moment to disappear, and reappear behind Sunstreaker. The yellow youngling had not time to process the change before the art pad was gone and Skywarp was back out of reach. The seekerling didn't look at it; he just hadn't been able to resist the chance to prank someone. Both Autobots had been so startled that Sunny even forgot to yell at the troublemaker. Instead, unholy grins of glee curved over their faces.

"That is so cool!"

"Do you have any idea what we could do with a talent like that?" Thundercracker put his head in his hands. Great. More pranksters.

"We could torment Ratchet! He wouldn't be able to catch us either! We can finally paint his medbay and get away with it! The cameras wouldn't pick up on us going in!"

"We could go see Star!" Skywarp was looking at his big brother as he said that. They hadn't thought to use his transwarp drive, but if they could see him if only for a moment...

Thundercracker was torn. He wanted to check on Star, but he knew that they were supposed to stay put until Optimus Prime came to get them. They could get in a lot of trouble. In the end though his brotherly instincts won out and he nodded to Sky.

"Let's do it." The twins cheered.

"We'll distract Hatchet for you. But don't be long, ok?" The seekerlings nodded gratefully.

"Thanks!"

"Give us ten kliks to get his attention and then go," Sunny ordered, dragging his big brother out of the room. Sideswipe winked, and let himself be pulled away. The blue and purple younglings heard him say,

"This is going to be awesome!" before they were out of audio range.

The ten kliks dragged by slowly, and the moment they had passed the younglings disappeared. They reappeared moments later next to their brother's berth. The little mech looked even smaller than normal, hooked up to so many big machines. Neither of them knew that the equipment did, but they knew better than to touch it. Instead, they climbed up onto the medical berth and wound their bodies around their brother, protecting him. The sound of Starscream's systems working properly again comforted them, and unwillingly the older seekerlings drifted into recharge.

----------

Ratchet grumbled to himself as he walked back into the medbay. Those pit spawn twins had gotten a hold of some kind of paint gun and had been causing havoc in the next corridor over. With both Jazz and Prowl out on missions it had fallen to him to discipline the younglings. They had been sent to recharge, and would begin their punishment early the next cycle. Ratchet just had to check on Starscream, and then he too would head to recharge. It had been a long few cycles, and for a while he wasn't sure the seekerlet would make it. But the tiny mech was strong and he had pulled through. Ratchet would let his brothers know after he checked on the youngling, but they wouldn't be able to visit until the next cycle. They needed their rest as well, and the medbay was no place for that.

He was surprised moments later when he came upon a seeker pile on his patient's berth. For a moment he was stunned; how had they gotten in? He then remembered one was a transwarper, and he was willing to bet his stash of high grade that the twins had been a distraction. He couldn't work up any anger though, seeing how protectively the younglings shielded their brother. Besides, all three were deep in recharge, and he didn't have the spark to wake them. Instead, he powered down the lights and set the monitors to alert him if anything went wrong. Then he sealed up the room and went to recharge on the spare berth in his office.

----------

Optimus Prime sighed. It had been four cycles since the seekerlings had come, and Megatron had correctly guessed where they had gone. He had sent demands for their return, and Optimus had denied him, saying that they had been granted asylum. Megatron had fired back that he would attack if his younglings were not returned. He had until the end of the joor to come up with a response. Now he was seated in the rec room, watching his soldiers and trying to come up with an answer. The younglings were not going back, that was non-negotiable. Even if he was callous enough to send them away, Ratchet and Ironhide, who it seemed were very attached to the younglings, would kill him. But at the same time he needed to avoid the impending attack, lest he lose more soldiers.

"Um, Optimus Prime, sir?" A hesitant voice broke through his musings. He turned to the speaker, finding Thundercracker and his brothers standing before him. Starscream was leaning against Skywarp, having been released from the medbay but not totally healed. The middle brother had a firm grip on his sibling and was subtly protecting the younger from harm. Thundercracker stood slightly in front of the two.

"How may I help you Thundercracker?"

"I just... I want to thank you on behalf of myself and my brothers for saving Starscream's life, and for giving us a second chance. I know that Megatron is... displeased with our defection."

"It is no trouble at all. I am glad that you were able to escape, and I promise you that you will not have to go back."

"He will try and take us," a new voice rasped. Ratchet had been unable to totally repair the damage to Starscream's vocalizer. "We can help you stop him." Unlike the other adults might have, Prime didn't brush them off.

"Oh? How so?"

"When he calls you again, Thundercracker can distract him, while Warp and I upload a virus via the connection into his main computer system. It will not only force his attention away from us while he deals with the destruction it will show him in no uncertain terms that we do not want to go back. Albeit it will likely change his focus on us from capture to murder, but hey, we're used to dealing with that," the smallest flyer said as he gestured to his wings. The Prime thought that is was disconcerting that the youngling could say that so casually. His brothers' darkened optics said that they thought so too.

"I am afraid that I cannot do anything that would put you more at risk than you already are, though I thank you for your suggestion."

"Sir," Skywarp spoke up, "He is already determined to get us back, and that focus is no more deadly than what Star is suggesting. The only difference is that he'll be angry with all three of us, not just one. That is actually safer, as it divides his attention equally among the three of us, and he will be less likely to focus on Star."

"Please sir, let us protect our brother. We couldn't do it before, but we have the chance to now." Optimus couldn't deny them that. He fully understood the need to protect, and he could admit to himself that he didn't have any other ideas, and time was running out.

"What sort of virus did you have in mind?" Thundercracker smirked.

"It's one that Screamer came up with. Have you ever heard of nanites?"

----------

And it's done! This took forever, and it seemed like a good place to end it. I'm not wholly pleased with it, as I could have gone into Megatron's reaction to the virus, but this seriously wouldn't end as it was. I might do a follow up story later, I might not. Actually, I wouldn't count on it, but you never know.


End file.
